To combat hunger, more look to soup kitchens
Associated Press, Journal Sentinel staff
Posted: Feb. 22, 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

More than 25 million Americans turned to the nation's largest network of food banks, soup kitchens and shelters for meals last year, up 9% from 2001.

Those seeking food included 9 million children and nearly 3 million senior citizens, says a report from America's Second Harvest.

"The face of hunger doesn't have a particular color, and it doesn't come from a particular neighborhood," said Ertharin Cousin, executive vice president of the group. "They are your neighbors, they are working Americans, they are senior citizens who have worked their entire lives, and they are children."

The organization said it interviewed 52,000 people at food banks, soup kitchens and shelters across the country last year. The network represents about 39,000 hunger-relief organizations, or about 80% of those in the United States. Most are run locally by churches and private non-profit groups.

Gina Styer, spokeswoman for America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin, which serves eastern Wisconsin, said statistics for individual states in the network will not be available for at least a month.

In 2001, almost 300,000 people daily in 36 counties were served by the Wisconsin organization. Of those people served, 46% were younger than 17 and 5% were ages 65 or older, Styer said.

From July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, her organization provided enough food to serve more than 14 million meals, she said.

Another Second Harvest chapter located in Madison, Second Harvest Foodbank, serves southern Wisconsin. According to its Web site, the chapter provides food to more than 56,000 people each year through charitable programs.

The latest nationwide surveys were done before hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast in 2005. After the hurricanes, demand for emergency food assistance tripled in Gulf Coast states, according to a separate report by the group.

The new information, being released today, found that 36% of people seeking food came from households in which at least one person had a job. About 35% came from households that received food stamps.

Cousin said the numbers show that many working people don't make enough money to feed their families. She said the food stamp numbers show that the government program, while important, is insufficient.

36%:  Proportion of people seeking food who came from households in which at least one person had a job.

A LOOK AT HUNGER

America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest network of food banks, soup kitchens and shelters, served 25.3 million people last year, a 9% increase from 2001.

Here are some characteristics of those seeking food assistance:

• Thirty-nine percent were white, non-Hispanic; 38% were black; 17% were Hispanic.
• About 9 million were children.
• Nearly 3 million were 65 or older.
• Nearly 70% had incomes below the official poverty level.
• Twelve percent were homeless.
• Forty-one percent said they have had to choose between buying food or paying for utilities.
• About a third said they had to choose between buying food or paying for medicine or medical care.

Source: Associated Press

Jesse Garza of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
From the Feb. 23, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Back to Hunger News